Advice for tea novices from Iowa State’s Tea Club
Using a fall flavored tea box can be decorative, and keep your tea easily available.
January 23, 2017
Interested in drinking tea this winter but unsure how to start? Or maybe you have tried tea before and know something went wrong, but you aren’t quite sure what. We asked Caroline Ryciuk, executive member of The Tea Club, to share some of her tips for novices.
“In my opinion, part of what makes tea really wonderful is that there is really no wrong way to do it,” Ryciuk said. “Tea is accessible to pretty much anyone whether it be the queen of England or an Iowa State student. It can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.”
What’s the deal with loose tea vs. tea bags?
Loose-leaf tea will almost always be a higher quality than bagged tea. Loose-leaf tea will usually be the full leaf that is processed in a way that brings out the flavors and aroma, whereas the product used in bagged tea is basically the leftover scraps and dust.
What can you add to tea?
You can add anything to tea to give it a unique flavor that suits you! Flowers, berries, nuts and herbs are often added to blends to give them interesting flavors. Tea is consumed in so many different cultures, in so many different ways that it’s really an inexhaustible subject. Part of the fun is trying new things!
What should you do if your tea tastes weak?
If a tea is too weak for your taste, you can add more of it to your water — for example two tea bags instead of one, or multiple tablespoons for looseleaf. Each type of tea also has a different recommended steeping temperature. White teas, for instance, are much more delicate than, say, black teas, so they get steeped at different temperatures to bring out the optimal flavor.
White tea: 175 to 185 degrees for 1 to 3 minutes
Green: 185 degrees for 3 minutes
Oolong: 185 to 206 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes
Black: 206 degrees for 3 minutes
These are just guidelines, but it’s a good place to start!
Can you reuse tea?
You can re-steep tea as many times as you like as long as the flavor suits you. Generally speaking, however, high-quality loose leaf teas are able to be steeped a few times — even up to five in some cases — and still hold their flavor. Bagged teas, on the other hand, might not be as strong.
You can join The Tea Club on Tuesdays for its weekly meetings. Find the club on Facebook for more information. Ryciuk also suggested a visit to Little Woods on Main Street, which partners with the club.
